Haiti Earthquake 2010 , The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that occurred approximately 10 miles (16 km) from Port-au-Prince, Haiti at 16:53 UTC-5 on 12 January 2010. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 6.2 miles (10.0 km).

Many Haitians have died and injured in the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. It is devastating, but the number of people who are helping, from celebrities down to the common people, are overwhelming.

The sad part is, do we really need disasters so our voices will become one? Hope that people will learn in past disastrous lessons. The time to make effort to clean our hearts is now.

The Haiti earthquake incident makes blacks, whites, yellow, basically all kinds of races become one in actions and in prayers. We are all brothers regardless of skin color and gender.

In a way, the Haiti earthquake reminds us that life is not forever, that we are bound by material nature. Hope that this will serve as an inspiration so we can be better persons.

There are positive things in negative occurrences; we just need the eyes and ears to feel it. Gratitude to the people who help Haitians, God bless us all.

Summary:
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s lawyer, Romulo Macalintal, stated in an interview over radio dzXL that Mrs. Arroyo can freely campaign for an electoral post for May 2010 election without filing a leave or resigning from her current position.
There is a spreading rumor that Mrs. Arroyo is seeking for a congressional seat in Pampanga next year. This rumor was further intensified when she frequently made a visit in the province, which was calculated to fall for 47 times already just this year.
Rep. Danilo Suarez, her political ally, also stated that Mrs. Arroyo would be an “asset” to the next administration if she runs and wins as vice-president.
Even though is there no formal announcement yet if Mrs. Arroyo will really run for the upcoming election, Macalintal still emphasized that there is no law prompting Mrs. Arroyo to resign or take a leave from the presidency while campaigning for an electoral. This was supported by the statement of lawyer Sixto Brillliantes about the declaration in RA 9006, which says “Anybody who runs for another office is not considered resigned.”
However, all of those claims are barred by the Section 4 of Article VII of the 1987 Constitution, which says “The President shall not be eligible for any re-election.” Until today, the provision has been the subject of many debates.
Comment:
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is probably the most controversial President of the country. Almost every year, new accusations are being thrown to her. There was the “Hello Garci” scandal and several corruption scandals. She also faced the threat of impeachment for a number of times.
The consistency of allegations to Mrs. Arroyo has severely distorted her image. Instead of being a public servant, she acted more as a self-servant. Working for her and her family’s own cause—expanding their riches in and out of the country and almost neglecting the needs of her people.
Now that her term is soon to end, the actions as well as the statements of her lawyer, Macalintal, including her other allies convey that Mrs. Arroyo is searching for new ways to keep her power and access to the riches of Juan De La Cruz. It seems that her eight years of sitting in the presidential position made her addicted to take a hold of power that she is badly craving for it now. Probably, nothing could really hinder this little woman with great ambition to stop her egoist pursuit; neither the failure of her Charter Change proposal nor the slamming voices of the masses will make her stop.
The issue now is not whether she could still run for the upcoming election, the issue is whether she would still deserve the trust of the people. Not unless she will cheat again that she could satisfy herself from her want to possess power in her hands for another time.

The Israeli arm already gained the control of the eastern section of Northern Gaza on Sunday after a ground launch into the Pakistan territory. There were at least 24 Palestinians who died as medical sources confirmed. As of press time, there are nearly 500 Palestinian death on stat inthe eighty-day military campaign.

The incursion started hours after the announcement that a delegation is leading towards the Middle East to meet with regional leaders and open the possibility of a cease-fire. The announcement came from the European Union.

Israeli’s attacks were said to be just a response to previous rocket attacks on Israel from Hamas militants.

Sources said that there were four civilians killed by Israeli shelling, five near the Jabalya refugee camp, three in the GAza city, and one militant in Khan Yunis.

Although there were unconfirmed numbers of death from the Hamas party, the Isralie Defense Force confirmed a competitive fight between them. And missiles form the Israeli party were launched overnight, which includes the Hamas’ intelligence headquarters.

“At least 30 rockets were launched from Gaza into southern Israel on Sunday morning.”

“We haven’t articulated regime change as the goal of this operation. Our goal is to protect our people,” Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said.

Hamas vowed an “all-out war” and warned israel that the “Gaza will be their cemetery.”

“We will not abandon the battlefield, and we will stay on the thorny course, and we will fight until the last breath,”  Ismail Radwan, Hamas Chief Spokesman, said.

Secretary of State-appointed Hillary Clinton had multimillion in presidential campaign debt at the end of the the election. Clinton had $6.4 million debt according to a filed report with the Federal Election Commission on Saturday

The amount represents the debt the New York’s senator had with her previous failed presidential campaign this year. Clinton’s campaign has reportedly reached the pinnacle that amounts to $12 million at the end of the first half of the year. The said debt initally decreased as the months passed by.

Clinton bids her high hopes of paying the said presidential debt before her confirmation as the state’s official secretary

Clinton had an initial $985,000 in her campaign account in November and raised nearly $290,00 by the end of the month. Her campaign paid out $1.2 million that ends the month with only $188,000 in the bank.

The stated multimillion campaign debt is owed to a total of 16 creditors which includes unpaid amount to Penn, Schoen & Berland.

(Clinton has also officially forgiven the $13.2 million she personally loaned her campaign. Under the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, presidential candidates who loan their campaigns money from personal funds may only be paid back if they do so by the national party convention — in this case, the Democratic National Convention held last August in Denver.) -sidebar from CNN

America could now be waiting for President-elect Barack Obama’s probable reversals on some of President Bush’s executive orders.

Some of the most controversial issues that have been scrutinized over the years might be overturned by President-elect Obama after taking the assuming the office. These are the the restrictions and control on the embryonic stem cell research, the so-called “gag” order on international aid organizations with regards to abortion.

These EOs, according to the Obama’s Transition party Chair John Podesta, is now in further review as of press time.

Martha Kumar of the White House Transition Project stated that a president is capable of deciding on executive actions and he or she alone has the capacity of doing that. The Congress is obliged to do what the president does, but executive orders are still solely from the president.

Other past executive orders that remain questionable are those that pertains to family planning, military prisons, and security affairs.

George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley sees that the reversals of Bush’s executive orders is a good way of presenting Obama’s ideal of a new era.

“Until President Obama gets rid of all these executive orders, he’ll be sharing his presidency with his predecessor,” Turley said. “Now that’s a particularly obnoxious thought for an administration that was elected for change.”

New presidents often use executive orders to put their stamp on Washington quickly. Unlike laws, which require months to complete and the consent of Congress, presidents can use their executive authority to order federal agencies to implement current policies. -CNN